


You Could Learn to Smile

by Poutyjellyfish



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Abusive Parents, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-03-21 13:46:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13742193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poutyjellyfish/pseuds/Poutyjellyfish
Summary: Never ever, not once in his life, had Sho ever complained that things were too quiet. Yet the universe saw fit to grant his unanswered wish. Now, he's just trying to make it out and meet as few people as possible. His loneliness might be unbearable and he might desperately long for loyal companionship but it's hard to learn about something so foreign. The world is forcing to answer a question he had long since pondered.Is it really better to trust the devil you know verse the devil you don't?(Basically Sho as the main protagonist in a Persona game. If Atlus isn't gonna write it, then I'm going to make sure he heals and gets the happy ending he deserves)





	1. Please Skim!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm Annaka and while this is not my first fanfic, it's the first one I'm putting here. Lemme tell you this story is not for the grammar faint of heart. I'm traditionally a poet and it leaks into my writing style. :D 
> 
> Anyway, I love Sho very much. 
> 
> Please Enjoy!

Hi and howdy! My name’s Annaka and I wanted to talk about the way this story will function and flow. This is basically What If Sho Was a Persona Protag because I find it interesting that his coding in Ultimax is P5Hero but he doesn’t even get a cameo in P5! Atlus!

 

Regardless several rules will need to be broken in order for this to function appropriately.

 

  1. Antagonists
    1. I love the P3 kids and if the opportunity presented itself I would let Mitsuru to anything to do me. That said, from Sho’s perspective they are his worst enemy and will be treated as such in the story. They’re not gonna, like, do anything seriously out of character or anything but the actions they take, regardless of the action’s morally, will be taken negatively and affect Sho’s persuption of them as such. 
  2. Fighting
    1. Oh fuck yeah there’s gonna be fighting. It’s Sho! However, it won’t be in Persona fashion. Leading us to
  3. Other World
    1. There ain’t one. As the story focuses more on healing, letting Sho have a magical outlet for his rage defeats the purpose. He has to learn to live and function like a normal person who wasn’t,,,like raised in a lab his whole life
  4. Confidants (Sho-cial Links)
    1. Since ranks will obviously not affect the outcome of a battle, social links will instead grant Sho...something else that will be revealed as he gains ranks. Sho will encounter the same, “You don’t have enough kindness to change with this dude” thing though!
    2. Sho lives alone so, breaking tradition, he will not have a link with anyone living with him. He will still have a parental figure link, he just won’t live with them
    3. Sho would be more than happy to ignore all social links and never talk to them again. Because of this, characters will engage(read: drag) the protag forcefully rather than passively as they do in other games. 
  5. Age
    1. Sho’s seventeen going on eighteen meaning he’s a third year. He has no canonical birthday so I’m going to say that it’s May 30th. 
    2. Because….that makes him….a Gemini. Jokes. 



 

Other than those main rules everything remains the same. There will be Tests! Beach Episodes! Romanceable Girls! Getting Into Trouble With Your Friends! Terrible Teachers! Hanging Out! Swords! School Trips! Tragedy! Humor! All These Persona Tropes And More! 

 

Will there be cursing? Lots. 

 

Screaming? Almost too much. 

 

Crying? From all parties involved.

 

_ Sex _ ? Definitely in dream form but only maybe in reality. And definitely not before June, let’s keep it legal. 

 

“But Annaka,” you might say. “Nobody liked Sho in Ultimax and they  _ really  _ don’t give a shit about him now.”

 

Your opinion is both noted and correct! Sho was incredibly unpopular and still is! That said! I love him and I want him to be happy because I love him so much! Thus!

 

Sho-Sona.

 

I hope you enjoy!


	2. Morning Dew in Your Hair, Darling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This was the original first chapter of a Sho character study that evolved into what it is now. It's just a little background for those who didn't play Ultimax and (god hopefully) an interesting dive into the ocean that Sho's emotions.

Dark city streets and long maze like alleyways brought him security blanket like comfort. It made the city seem smaller. It let him breathe a little easier. Knowing that he was the most dangerous thing walking the streets, Sho could let his feet carry him.

Things in his apartment were loud, regardless of the hour, and since shoving a sword through the wall had gotten him kicked out of his last place - Sho settled for a walk instead. He could focus on the feeling of his shoes against the ground instead of the twitch in his legs and arms. Sho tried very hard not feel like that if he wasn’t constantly swinging at something he was losing his edge.

“Ha!” He barked out at his accidental joke. 

Oh man, Dad would have found that hilarious, he thought brushing a hand against the wall. 

Then he punched it as hard as possible could. Sho was beating on the wall with everything he had in him. A punch for every time he had misunderstood something, for every time he said do something and had everyone stare at him, a punch for every single time he longed to be back in his cage. He was fighting his longing to understand things again.

He was really trying to be better.

“I’m trying! I’m trying, alright!?” He cried, falling onto the street. 

Sho cried and then cried more for crying. Rubbing at his eyes to try and stop the tears flowing down his cheeks. 

“Weak! Weak! Stop being-”

\--

“Such a crybaby. It’s only a scratch,” Ikutsuki said, scrubbing at the gash on Sho’s arm. The little boy sat on the edge of his bed, covering his eyes with his arm. Trying to hide the tears from his father.

Sho felt panic seize in his throat. If this was just a scratch then what would a cut feel like? The fear in that made him cry harder. Tears flowed as easily as water from a spout and he sobbed.

“Sho, stop it. You’re going to get mucus all over my lab coat. That’s snot what I want.” The pun had its desired effect. Sho began laughing through his sniffles and began to relax. 

Dad wouldn’t get me hurt, he thought smiling at his father. I only got hurt ‘cause I wasn’t payin’ attention to him.   
“Sorry for losin’, Dad.” Sho gave a weak smile. Anyone else would have noticed the tight smile that cross Ikutsuki’s face. How he seemed to be biting back a novel of insults. But Sho had become accustomed to take these smiles as prizes. Each one a gold star on his record sheet. The little boy beamed in response. 

“It’s alright, Sho. Next time you will do better.”

“‘Course!”

“No, no. I mean with this.” Ikutsuki held out a red gel pill. Even to Sho, it gave off a malevolent aura and he scooted further back on his bed. 

“What’s that?”

“An ability enhancer. You’ll jump higher, swing faster, understand orders better. This little pill is going to make sure you never lose again.”

The idea of never getting cut or seeing his father disappointed again was tempting but the glare this medicine gave off scared him. Sho looked at his father, unable to see his eyes because of the glare in his glasses, and shook his head. 

“What?”

A single word was enough to send Sho scrambling for other end of the room. He willed the walls to bend around him as he pressed his back into it. His tongue tripped over itself trying to explain that he was nervous, that he was scared, that he didn’t want to take it and didn’t he get to say no to this. 

“I don’t know where this attitude of yours suddenly came from but I will not have it,” Ikutsuki said, standing up. He grabbed Sho by the roots of his red hair and dragged him from his bed. Sho struggled against him for all he was worth but, despite his obvious ability at his young age, the difference in age and weight made it impossible to escape. 

He dragged Sho through the hallways and past scientists like a wiggling cat in a bag. Sho was screaming, not begging for help, but just opening his mouth and wailing.

“Shut up,” Ikutsuki commanded as he pulled Sho into a room. Without opening his eyes, Sho knew exactly what this room was.

The training room. 

It was filled to its max capacity with things to hurt him. While it might look like a normal gym, the handler standing by the door with a shock baton said otherwise. They advanced on Sho as he stood, shell shocked by his father’s betrayal. Before they could grab him, he leapt on the treadmill. The handler cranked up the speed to just below the maximum immediately. 

“You will stay here until you have decided to behave. I’m sorry that you forced me to do this, Sho,” Ikutsuki said, closing the door behind him as he left. *

\--

“Hey kid, are you alright?” 

Sho glanced up to see a young lady leaning out of her apartment window and staring at him. She pushed a piece of her long curly hair out of her face to get a better look at him. “Do you, like, need something?”

“Yeah, for you to leave me alone!” He called, excited to have something to get angry about. “Unless you wanna come down here and do something about it!”

The young lady threw her hands up. “Christ! There’s a teenager boy sobbing in my alleyway while I’m trying to practice! Of course I want to do something about it! Jesus Juliet, you try to do something nice and-” She cut herself off by slamming her window closed. 

Sho stormed off in response, slamming his feet down on the pavement as loud as he could. When he appeared out on the main street, he took a deep breath and watched his breath dance up into the air. The biting cold felt good in his lungs. Little needles deliciously diving down his throat to remind him that he was here.

He tore off his jacket to feel the sting of winter against his skin. Sho took in gulps of air like a diver coming to the surface. And maybe, in some ways, he was. Years of his life had been spent in the darkness of solitude and fear. To swim to the surface and see the sun after so long.

It blinded him.

\--

A little older, a little taller, and a little more daring, Sho stood with his arms crossed in front his father. 

“I want to see outside stuff.” It was a common demand from Sho when he was eleven. He had read stories about boys his age talking to friends or going places. While he wasn’t interested in the former, the latter was as tempting as a cookie jar with no lid.

“What kind of outside stuff?” Ikutsuki asked, not looking up from the paper on his desk.

“I dunno. Trees? I read about chocolate. That sounds nice.”

“You’ve had chocolate before, Sho. You didn’t like it. It was too bitter for you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you doubting me?” 

Sho bit his tongue. “No.”

Yes

A silence fell over the room like a curtain. Sho kicked his legs back and forth on his chair. Eyes wandering over the vials and trays with various pills and liquids in them. A shiver ran through him.

“Should you go get a jacket?”

“I’m fine! Don’t worry about me, Dad!” Sho smiled. “Hey, do you know what watermelon tastes like? It is more like water? What’s a melon even taste like?”

“Sho,” Ikutsuki said, drawing out his name in a low voice. But he was on a roll. Little stars twinkled in his eyes as he asked questions about things like video games, beaches, amusement parks, families, and friends. In his ever growing cruelty, Ikutsuki knew he need to make Sho realize the lights in his eyes were not stars.

They were overhead lights of the lab. 

With a small smile, Ikutsuki set down his tools and turned to Sho. “Do you really want to see these things?”

“Yeah!”

“I cannot come with you then.”

Sho frowned. “Why not?”

“I have to stay here and work on making sure the world stays safe.”

The boy thought for a second before leaping off his chair. “Then I’ll go! I’ll come back and tell you all about the things outside.”

“You are too kind, Sho,” Ikutsuki said with something dark bubbling below the surface. “Come then, let’s get you ready.”

Sho launched himself off his chair to follow Ikutsuki. He was outfitted with a backpack, some shoes, a combat knife, and even a little pocket money. It was hard to put the backpack on him because he literally could not stop jumping for joy.

To see the outside world! To go somewhere sunlight that was not electric! To drink a soda!

His mind could barely keep track of all the possibilities. All the while Ikutsuki smiled supportively. Sho took his silence as fear for him and pressed a hand on his own chest.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna to be fine!”

In his excitement, Sho missed the smirk that tugged on Ikutsuki’s lips.

They rode the elevator up together and strode through the bright white hallways for side by side for the last time. Sho thought his goodbyes to the testing room where he saw a different child fighting some sort of robot. In the middle of his thoughts the door to the outside appeared. 

It was a giant circle that took Sho’s breath away. He realize he had never even seen the door to the outside before. He raced towards it, beginning to bounce again.

“Remember to be careful out there, Sho.”

“I will! I will! Open it up already!” Sho cried.

Ikutsuki pulled a lever and Sho was almost knocked off his feet by the smell of something sweet and sappy. It stung his nose and made his eyes water. He shook off the assault to his sense to step outside into a world of green.

Trees, so many trees, taller than anything he have ever imagined. And the moon! A brighter white than anything in the lab. As he was enraptured by the beauty in them, the door to the lab slid shut. Sho glanced over at it before steeling himself and walking further into the deep forest.

He was entranced by the sounds of the forest, the light of the moon, the way pine needles tickled his cheeks. Sho was staring up so much that he forgot to look down.

The ground disappeared in front of him and he tumbled through the forest. Tossed and turned like a stone in the ocean but instead of smoothing over his rough edges, the forest put more chips and cracks in him. Sho ended his failed gymnastics routine by being slammed against the trunk of a tree. 

It hurt so much that he couldn’t manage to yell. If the training room had taught him anything it was that he had to keep moving. He tried to stand but his left leg gave out. 

It’s broken, he realized. Sho look up at the hill he had just fallen down. 

Suddenly the forest didn’t seem so beautiful. 

By the time he finished clawing his way up the hill and limping to the door he was so exhausted that, instead of knocking, Sho just collapsed against the door. The sound reverberated through the metal and it hurt his head. The fact that the sun was trying to tear out his eyes wasn’t helping. An outdoor speaker crackled to life. 

“Is that you, Sho?” Ikutsuki’s voice crackled over the speaker. 

“My leg! I think...I think it’s broken!”

“That’s a shame.”

Silence. 

“Dad? Open the door,” Sho said. 

“Tell how me the outside world is.”

“Dad?” He banged against the door. “Dad?”

“Are you liking the trees and the sun? Did you make it to the beach?”

“Dad! Dad, let me in!” Sho was pounding on the door. “Let me in! Let me in!”

“Did you find a family out there?”

Sho slammed himself against the door trying to break it open. 

“Or was there nothing? Nobody waiting for you.”

“Dad!” She screamed trying to pull the door open with the tips of his fingers. 

“You’re not useful to me in this state, Sho. You’re not useful to the future of the world. I don’t need you anymore,” Ikutsuki said before the speaker went silence. 

Sho pounded on the door for hours. He begged, he cried, he threatened but nothing produced a reaction. One last punch to the door, he collapsed with only the gentle morning mist blanketing him.

\--

The memory sat bitter on Sho’s tongue. 

No, no, he thought. Ikutsuki wouldn’t throw me away there. He would bring me back into the lab and as soon as I knew how my life worked he’d throw me away like garbage! 

With a grunt, Sho punted a can down the street. Salarymen, who were leaving for work as the sun rose, crossed the street to avoid him. 

“What are you lookin’ at?!” He screeched at them. They let out a small scream and rushed past him. 

Sho panted, the breath making him appear as a dragon to early morning Tokyo. Exhausted by his night of memories, Sho leaned against the side of a building. 

“Useless,” he scoffed. 

But he couldn’t help but feel a soul crushing lack of purpose. 

There were no fights to win, no worlds to save, he was just a boy who didn’t belong in the world he was told he was suppose to be a hero in. Sho was a weapon without a single thing to fight against.

He shook off the thoughts like droplets of water. Morning dew coated the windows, mocking his unruly head. That his thoughts wouldn’t evaporate when the sun rose. So he decided to do exactly was he had always done. 

Drag himself home.


	3. Playgrounds, Parks, and the Dangers of Monkey Bars

“If I eat one more _fucking_ bowl of this instant shit, I’m gonna…” Sho let the sentence trail off with a closed mouth scream and pulled at his hair. Instead of going out or ordering something, he flung himself on the floor without bothering to fold out his futon.  

His apartment held only his few belongings and whatever came with the room. Clothes were scattered here or there as laundry was difficult to wash. Eating utensils were in the sink where they would stay until Sho threw them away.

It was so frustrating for him to be spinning his wheels like this. He couldn’t fight without calling too much attention to himself.

Sho looked up at his apartment ceiling and tried to pretend he could see something in it other than the popcorn-like texture embedded in it.

 _It’s fucking stupid_ , he thought. _What’s the point of putting texture on a ceiling? And why the_ fuck _would you call it popcorn?_

He let out a frustrated groan and turned onto his side. Sho looked at nothing other than the dingy yellow color of his walls and yesterday’s trash that needed to be thrown away. With a sigh that was so exasperated B-movie actors were jealous, he stood and moved to take it out. As soon as he stood there was a knock at his door. No one should ever be at that door and they _damn well_ should know not to knock on it. Sho flung it open and glared at the delivery man, his hat pulled low over his face. He pushed the clipboard towards Sho with a pen and he signed.

“So where’s the package?” Sho asked. The delivery man turned away without another word. “Hey! _Hello?!_ Is your head stuffed in a box?! Jesus, who cares?”

He slammed the door closed. “Next time I see that dude I’m gonna _deliver_ him to his maker.”

Sho threw his head back cackling with laughter, walking around his apartment and picking up this various paper dishes and wooden sticks. He finally decided to leave with his trash in hand after cracking a few more puns at the deliveryman’s expense. The hallways of his apartment were littered with other people’s belongings. Bikes, old boxes, the usual stuff but it infuriated him. This was the one common spot! The _only_ spot that should be constantly clean but people just left their crap everywhere and-

“Jesus Christ!” Sho cried, kicking a box filled with children’s playground toys. They scattered through the hallway, some cracking with a sickening crunch.

Instantly regret overwhelmed him.

With another sighed, Sho picked up the various toys and placed them back in the box in the hall. He set a few dollars in there as well to replace the ones he had destroyed. He stomped down the stairs, each step louder than next and shaking the rickety metal staircase.

Jumping over the last few steps, he hit the pavement running. There wasn’t anywhere to really going to, nothing that needed his attention. So he just ran, throwing the bag of trash in the large dumpster. The mid-afternoon sun was shining down on the snow, turning once prime sledding spots into dangerous mountains of ice. Despite the sidewalk being covered in salt, Sho still managed to find places to slide.

Gliding on the ice in his sneakers, wind whipping his bare arms and through his hair. He nearly collided with several people walking with their children or their groceries but he never learned, always too interested in how far the next patch of ice would take him. He slid into a park where children leapt off swingsets at their highest point and pushed each other down slides. Sho wondered if he would have played on rock walls or dug around in the semi-frozen sand turning his fingers red and raw.

“Hey! Mister! Watch out!”

Sho’s head whipped around just in time to collide with a park bench. His momentum flipped him head over heels over the bench and he landed on his back. He groaned, the pain of crashing into the sidewalk, the chill of the ice, and embarrassment mixing together in an painful harmony.

“Are you okay?” A little girl asked, standing over him with her head tilted in concern.

“Does it-ow-does it look like I'm fucking okay?" 

“Mommy says you’re not suppose to swear!” She screamed, voice more shrill than a whistle.

Great. Now his head hurt too.

He sat up and gave her a glare. The little girl seemed unperturbed, digging at a small patch of ice with her pink rubber boots. She had such a soft face, a gentle child with raven black hair that flew over her shoulders. Suddenly her head snapped up with a smile.

“Did you wanna play with me?”

Sho blinked. “What? No, why the-”

“If you don't play with me, I’ll tell my mommy that you swore and you’ll get in a lot of trouble!”

Shit, was it illegal to cuss at a kid? Sho racked his brain for the answer. It sounded fake but he honestly didn’t know enough about law to dispute her and he’d rather not deal with the police today.

“Fine, whatever.”

“Yay!” She threw her hands up. In every sense of the word her smile was concentrated sunshine, beaming into his eyes and blinding him. The young girl offered him hand and tried to help pull him up despite Sho being at least three feet taller than her. She yanked his arm towards her, walking backward with a puffed up face full of intense concentration.

Sho rolled his eyes and played along, stumbling to his feet. “Wow!” He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re so strong!”

“I know!” She cried setting her hands on her hips. “I’m gonna be an Olympic weightlifter!”

“Oh wow,” he said. “Say, maybe you could hold me up? Since you’re so strong and all.”

“I bet I could!”

“Well let’s see if you can _handle the pressure_!” He joked.

“Your joke is stupid,” she said bluntly.

“Oh yeah! Well you’re stupid!” He shot back, not recognizing the foolishness of arguing with a child.

“No you’re stupid! And your hair is dumb!”

His hands flew up to his head, fingers running through his hair. “M-my hair!? What the hell is wrong with my hair?!”

“It’s not soft and black and silky like mine,” she taunted, running her fingers through the locks of hair over her shoulders.

“My hair’s soft!” He cried.

It was not.

“Yeah okay _sure_ ,” the little girl taunted again, hiding a giggle in her hands.

Sho could not explain the anger that was boiling inside him. He had been called so much worse but this eight year old was seriously pissing him off. It would be bad to hit her, he knew, and scaring her in a public place would only brand him as a threat, if not a pedophile. But there was something, something compelling him to punk this little punk.

“Bet ya can’t catch me!” He cried. 

The challenge that ignited in her eyes was like a hurricane mixed with a forest fire. She leapt for him but he danced away from her. Biting her lip, she ran towards him. Sho ran from her fast enough to stay ahead of her but slow enough to give her the idea she could tag him. When he turned his head to tease her, he saw the smirk of a cat finding a mouse. 

And then he slammed into the monkey bars.

He stopped to hold his head, to try and smother the striking pain that seemed to be pounding into his skull. The little girl bounced over and patted him.

“You’re it.”

 Sho felt like being outsmarted by a kid hurt much more than the monkey bars.

She patted his cheek and gave it a little kiss. “A kiss for your boo-boo.” 

“Thanks,” he snapped at her. She shrugged.

“Let’s play again sometime! You can call me Hana!” She waved away at him as she walked away. “Bye, Mister! Have a good day! Come play soon!”

As Sho sat in the woodchips, trying to heal his pride and his head as Hana skipped away. When he stood there was a soft voice in his head, so gentle that it swept away the scene leaving only a peaceful gray around him. He closed his eyes, relishing in the silence.

_I am thou_

A fear grasped his chest, his heart beating so quickly that he was worried it break through his chest.

“No,” he whispered.

_Thou art I_

“Stop it,” he said, searching for whatever voice was taunting him, whatever entity what trying to control him now. Sho was going to destroy whoever was trying to put him back in chains, back in bonds.

 _Thou hast acquired a new vow_  

“Please.”

_It shall become the bandages on thy heart and heal the wounds torn asunder by past sorrow_

_With the birth of the Devil persona, I have obtained the foundation and heart that shall lead to healing and forgiveness of thyself and others._

When the voice faded, Sho was just standing in a slowly darkening park, clutching his shirt in his hands. Children dragged their feet as they were summoned home. Soon there was no one in the sunset touched park.

There was just Sho sitting on a slide with a sinking feeling. Dragging him deeper into a fear that things were about to get a lot worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!!! A first Arcana!! First Bond!!! Sho-link Go! 
> 
> If those wondering whether or not I broke the tradition of having the first female character being The Lovers card...I kinda cheesed it like P4 did with Rise. It will make sense later. Please, I'm begging you, come talk to me on twitter about Sho. https://twitter.com/Lookbuddyi


	4. A Velvet Room and an Iron Memory

While he returned to his home, Sho sighed and flung himself on the floor again. Partly due to the pounding in his head and partly due to the fact that despite being out, he had still neglected to buy food. Not that that mattered now. He slipped his hands behind his head and returned to staring at the ceiling until his eyes finally closed.

When he woke up, Sho sure as hell was not in his apartment.

Unfortunately, the room he was in was terrifying familiar.

White walls seemed to push in on him and emptiness of the room put a weight on his chest like no other. Books once revered now sat on the shelf, threatening to tumble down around him. Sho couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t take a single breath of air. Eyes wide in panic, he grabbed his chest, trying to manually force air into his screaming lungs. He flipped around on the bed as his eyes started to dim but just as he was thinking about how this was such a pitiful way to die, a voice spoke.

“My my, quite the entrance. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen such a spectacle. Please relax in my Velvet Room?”

“What?” He choked out. “This is- This is-”

His room at the lab.

It looked a little different. There were blue drapes over some of the white walls and a desk where the door should have been. At that desk a man with a nose as long at Sho’s arm sat cross legged. Sho flung himself to his feet and the feeling off standing let him take a deep breath.

“What...what the shit is going on?” He heaved at the nose man.

The nose man responded with, “This is my Velvet Room but it’s your special place. Though it’s interesting you see your inner self as still locked in this cell.”

“That was not an answer to my question.”

“No, it’s wasn’t.”

“Listen here! You better tell me what the hell is going on for I reach over that table and I shove your nose so far up-”

“That would be inadvisable, Sho. You need to relax.”

A voice from behind him, so familiar for a second he thought it was his own. Only, it was his voice. Different, yes, a bit lower and bit more venomous, but his none the less.

“Minazuki?” Sho whispered, hoping beyond hope.

“I suppose you won't know unless you turn around.”

He turned to see a face, his face, staring at him with a frown. Minazuki looked different, holding a thick blue book and wearing the Velvet Room uniform. He gave Sho a small smile.

“Minazuki!” Sho cried. “You look great! I mean we look great! Ah wait with that white hair I suppose you look gray-t!”

“Sho. Please have a seat.” When Sho sat, Minazuki opened the book. “It appears you’ve already met one future bond and also created one with the Devil Arcana. When you go to school tomorrow-”

“Hey, I actually had a question about that! Not the school, who gives a shit about school, but what’s up with me suddenly making all these ‘bonds’?” Sho asked, using air quotes to describe his feeling on the word. Minazuki stared at him, unblinking and exhausted. The bags under his eyes only seeming to worsen with each second of a clock unseen.

“Young man, you are about to embark on a journey into self healing. We are only here to act as observers and assistants.”

“What? Hell no! I’m not going-”

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” Igor said with a smile. “You see, you’ve already signed a contact.”

“What?!” Sho cried, leaping to his feet. “I didn’t a damn-”

The realization hit him like a punch in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to stumble back. For a second he thought he was going to choke again, his eyes frantically search for an exit that wasn’t blocked by a desk. When there was none and the acceptance that he had been had crashed into him, a fury ignited in him. With a look of anger, horror, and betrayal only rivaled by B-movie actors, Sho turned to Minazuki. The horror faded into blinding rage as it clicked into place. The blue hat, no package, his signature. Minazuki stood stone face in the center of the room, unblinking.

“You son of a bitch.”

Sho reacted instantly, shoving his mirrored self against the wall. Minazuki continued to not react as he was slammed into the wall by his collar, the sound echoing throughout the room.

“How could you do this?!” Sho demanded.

“It’s for your own good.”

“How many times have I heard that before, huh?! What the hell makes you think that I need anyone?!”

“People need people.”

“This is such bullshit coming from you!” Sho cried. “Complete and utter bullshit!”

“Please sit down, Sho,” Minazuki said, voice an unwavering calm. Sho released his collar and stepped back trying to decide whether or not to punch him. Before he would decide, Minazuki shoved him back. “Sit.”

“No! Screw you!” His hands reached for swords that weren’t there.

“That’s quite enough of your temper tantrum,” Igor said, a finger guilding through the air. Sho collapsed on to his bed like he was bound to him and growled around the unseen restraints. “I should tell you that violence is strictly prohibited here. You would not like the consequences of another of your little outbursts.”

“You sound like my dad.”

“Perhaps it is easier for you to hate me if you think that. Regardless, with a contact signed you must hold up your end of the bargain. If you do not create at least three bonds within the next two days, there will be dire consequences.”

“Two days?! I-I-I can’t do that!” Sho shouted. “And why should I be afraid of you?”

“Because I have the ability to alert people to your presence. I’m sure Mitsuru would be ecstatic to see you again.”

“You motherfu-”

“Goodbye Sho,” Igor said.

“Hey! Hey! I’m not going anywhere, you son of bitch! Are you listening to-”

“Me!” Sho cried, sitting up in his apartment. “Mother fucker!”

He threw off the blankets and tore off his clothes on the way to the bathroom. Sho was furious, glowring at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, turning the water temperature to an almost unbearable level of heat, shoving his arms in the sleeve of his new school uniform, biting and tearing at his tofu, rice, and miso soup, and finally shoving his books in his new bookbag. As if it wasn’t bad enough waking up from such a shitty place, his first day of school was today. Sho slammed his door shut, locking it as fiercely as possible.

“Jeez kid, take a breather,” said a woman in passing. Sho rounded on her to take out all his frustrations on her but her looks stopped him. She was an older woman, mid-40’s maybe, with dark skin and curly hair and a stiff leather jacket. But what was more interesting was how she was drinking from a bottle of whiskey and smelled not like an ashtray but a campfire mixed with something deadly. Her aura begged him to make a move on her, to test what she was made up, but Sho shoved past her without a second thought.

Her laughter echoed in his ears as he walked to the train station.

As he approached it, students with similar uniforms scittdered around him to avoid falling under his murderous gaze. In fact most people avoided him as much as possible, the line for the train disappearing when he approached.

“Dude, you need to relax.”

For the second time today, someone was making the mistake of talking to him while he was in his moods. Sho turned to see a gentle looking young man holding his schoolbag. He gave him a small smile, like someone cupping his cheek.

And that really pissed Sho off.

Without thinking, Sho swung at him. The crowd gasped, a woman screamed, but the boy remained untouched having stepped back in time. Sho blinked and threw another punch.

The young man dodged and tried to shove his fist through Sho’s stomach. Sho stumbled back, wiping the spit from his mouth. “What the fuck?”

“We’re going to be late for class,” he said, walking past Sho onto the train. “And please watch your language, the school has strict no swearing policy.”

“What kinda goody-two-shoes-hey! Let go of me!” Sho cried as the other boy grabbed the back of his uniform, dragging him onto the train. He squirmed but there was no stopping the iron clad grip on his jacket as he was dragged through the train, kept there, and then dragged into the school building kicking and screaming.

When he was finally released he was in a dingy classroom with miscellaneous stains on the wall and desks and people staring at him.

“What are you lookin’ at?!” He snapped at them.

“Enough, Minazuki-san,” the boy said with a bow. “I am Asahi Reo. Please call me Asahi.”

“And?”

“And I am the class representative. I considered it my duty to make sure you made it to school,” Asahi said, smiling at him again. “You may come to me with anything, Sho.”

“That’s awfully familiar of you.”

“Well I’m currently the only person you know right?” As he spoke, Sho searched him over for any sigh of weakness. But the kid was sturdy and prepared for his attacks.

“As such,” Asahi continued. “I would consider us friends.”

“No!” Sho cried, throwing his hands out. “Don’t say that word!”

“Friends?”

“Yes-oh shit,” Sho sighed as the world started to turn gray.

I am thou

“As of today couldn’t get any worse.”

Thou art I

Thou has acquired a new vow

It shall become the bandages on thy heart and heal the wounds torn asunder by past sorrow

With the birth of the Magician persona, I have obtained the foundation and heart that shall lead to healing and forgiveness of thyself and others.

“Well I guess I'm stuck with you now,” Sho relented, slipping into a seat. Asahi sat next to him with another beautiful smile that he offered to every person who entered the room. An assortment of people slogged in, still trying to shake off the spring chill. A girl with headphones that broadcasted her music to the room, a young man slinking in as he tried to hide more of himself in his school jacket, and finally a teacher. A teacher with a brown jacket all too familiar but a face too different to place.

“Dad?” Sho whispered.

“Excuse me?” The teacher asked.

Not Ikutsuki. For certain. But there was something haunting about him, something that made Sho want to crawl out of his skin and let his soul burst through the window in a grand escape. He was still transfixed on the dull pain behind his eyes as the teacher began talking. Every word a weight on his sanity, dragging him further down into paranoia as he analyzed the teacher long chestnut hair, thin wire frames, a different jawline, less stress marks but the distinct look of someone who was used to being the sole authority.

There was a rattling noise next to his ear.

Sho turned to destroy whatever dared make a noise during this time of immense frustration and fear but found it was only a small bottle of drugstore painkillers. The hand connected to that bottle belonged to the boy who was trying hide his face under his coat. He avoided Sho’s stare by keeping his eyes fixed firmly on his desk. When Sho snatched the bottle from him, the boy also offered a water bottle. Sho pounded some of the pills before handing both objects to the young man.

“Thanks.”

“Of course,” he whispered as the teacher spoke.

His attention returned to the teacher who was both ignoring and staring directly at him. Sho glared at him, leaning back in his chair.

“Minazuki Sho,” the teacher said, voice like ice down his back.

“Here.”

“Would you like to stand and respect your peers and I? Unless you no longer have feeling in your legs.”

Asahi stood up. “Mr. Shimizu! Minazuki-san is new and had no idea he was suppose to stand!” His voice was loud but completely in control.

“Still not gonna stand. I can’t stand this endless talking. Aren’t we supposed to be having class?” Sho said, slipping further into his chair.

Mr. Shimizu turned to the chalkboard and began writing frantically on it’s surface. The students whipped open notebooks to take notes until they saw the content.

Flowers are to pretty as Minazuki is to?

Sho blinked.

“Ugly?” A student asked. The class burst into laughter and Sho lit up red.

“Close but no,” Shimizu answered.

“Disobedient?” Another ventured, the ball of mocking beginning to roll through the classroom. There was a barrage of answers and laughter until the period ended.

I am thou

Thou art I

Thou has acquired a new vow

It shall become the bandages on thy heart and heal the wounds torn asunder by past sorrow

With the birth of the Tower persona, I have obtained the foundation and heart that shall lead to healing and forgiveness of thyself and others.

  
If Sho wasn’t angry yet, now he was downright furious. 


End file.
